Marla Gibbs

Actress + Singer

Female

BornJun 14, 1931

Marla Gibbs is an American television and film actress and singer, who in her five decades of television is probably best remembered for playing Louise and George Jefferson's sarcastic maid, Florence Johnston, on The Jeffersons and spinoff Checking In.… Read More

News + Updates

'<mark>Marla Gibbs</mark> lives by the mantra \"it\'s never too late.\" After becoming a household name 40 years ago as Florence, the sassy maid on The Jeffersons, Gibbs says that as long as she\'s still breathing, there will always be something new she\'ll want to explore. \"God works with us through ideas. He gives us the idea. Then we have to have the faith and belief,\" she says. \"We can only do how much we believe we can do. When things happen, all you really have to do is change yo...

'<mark>Marla Gibbs</mark> lives by the mantra \"it\'s never too late.\" After becoming a household name 40 years ago as Florence, the sassy maid on The Jeffersons, Gibbs says that as long as she\'s still breathing, there will always be something new she\'ll want to explore. \"God works with us through ideas. He gives us the idea. Then we have to have the faith and belief,\" she says. \"We can only do how much we believe we can do. When things happen, all you really have to do is change yo...

'<mark>Marla Gibbs</mark> lives by the mantra \"it\'s never too late.\" After becoming a household name 40 years ago as Florence, the sassy maid on The Jeffersons, Gibbs says that as long as she\'s still breathing, there will always be something new she\'ll want to explore. \"God works with us through ideas. He gives us the idea. Then we have to have the faith and belief,\" she says. \"We can only do how much we believe we can do. When things happen, all you really have to do is change yo...

'It\'s well known that late night TV talk shows are a male-dominated field. As Jay Leno hands over The Tonight Show to Jimmy Fallon, I caught up with Beth Einhorn, who was the only female writer on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for three years. Darryle Pollack: You\'ve worked as a Writer/Producer/Director on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Chris Rock Show, The Man Show, the George Carlin Specials on HBO, Saturday Night Live. Tell me about getting hired as a writer for The Tonight Show. ...

Timeline

CHILDHOOD

1931Birth
The younger of a sister, Gibbs was born Margaret Theresa Bradley on June 14, 1931, at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois to Ophelia Birdie (née Kemp) and Douglas Bradley.

TEENAGE

194918 Years Old
She attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School in the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago's south side graduating in 1949.
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Shortly after high school, Gibbs moved to Detroit, Michigan where she attended Peters Business School. She worked as a reservations agent for United Airlines before relocating with her children from Detroit to Los Angeles.<br /><br /> Gibbs got her first acting job in the early 1970s, in the blaxploitation films Sweet Jesus, Preacher Man and Black Belt Jones. Read Less

TWENTIES

195524 Years Old
Gibbs was married to her high school sweetheart Jordan Gibbs from 1955 to 1973; the couple had three children: Angela Gibbs, Dorian Gibbs and Joseph Gibbs.
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Her older sister is the late actress Susie Garrett. Her daughter Angela Gibbs is also an actress who appeared in movies such as Together Brothers, Drumline and Think Like A Man Too. Read Less

FORTIES

197544 Years Old
In 1975 she was cast as Florence Johnston, the family's maid, in the CBS comedy series The Jeffersons.
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For her performance on the series, Gibbs was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series five times, and once for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. Read Less

FIFTIES

198150 Years Old
In 1981 she starred in the short-lived spin-off of The Jeffersons, titled Checking In.
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Gibbs responded in a 2015 interview on Broadway Showbiz, when asked if she'd based any of her characters on real-life people: "Yes, Florence was like my aunt and grandmother so I lived it. She came easy to me so I'm like Florence in giving smart answers, but I was also shy so I wouldn't have dared to say some of the things Florence said. I prefer to do whatever I can do at the moment. Whoever's hiring me at the moment that's what I'm supposed to do. My favorite is drama. I'm doing that now (on Scandal), but also still doing comedy on Hot in Cleveland." Read Less

198554 Years Old
In 1985, when The Jeffersons was cancelled after 11 seasons, Gibbs was the lead actress in the NBC sitcom, 227.
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The series aired until 1990, producing 116 episodes. Two decades later, Gibbs teamed again with former 227 co-star and long-time friend Jackée Harry in The First Family, where Gibbs had a recurring role as Harry's on-screen mother Grandma Eddy. Then, she again worked with Harry in the independent film Forbidden Woman.<br /><br /> Gibbs had a number of supporting film roles, and guest starred on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Touched by an Angel (with longtime friend Della Reese), Judging Amy, ER, and Southland. Read Less

LATE ADULTHOOD

199867 Years Old
From 1998 to 2002 she had a recurring role on The Hughleys.

201281 Years Old
In 2012, Gibbs appeared in the Tyler Perry film Madea's Witness Protection, and in 2014 she starred in the independent film, Grantham & Rose.

201483 Years Old
On July 31, 2014, Gibbs attended the Leimert Park Village Book Fair in Los Angeles, California to pay tribute to longtime friends Maya Angelou, who died on May 28, and Ruby Dee, who died on June 11.

201584 Years Old
In 2015, she made a cameo appearance in the episode of Shonda Rhimes' drama series, Scandal.
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Gibbs owned a jazz club in South Central L.A. called Marla's Memory Lane Jazz and Supper Club from 1981 to 1999. As a singer, she released a number of albums. Read Less

201685 Years Old
On January 11, 2016, Gibbs and former 227 co-star and long-time friend, Jackée Harry, attended the funeral of Grammy Award-winning singer Natalie Cole at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in Los Angeles, California.
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Gibbs co-starred opposite Cole in the TV movie Lily in Winter. Read Less